High Hopes Cavaliers

As a way of introduction, I would like to tell you a bit about myself. I remember growing up with a passion for horses and dogs, brought about from my childhood surroundings in Lexington, Kentucky. I grew up in an entrepreneurial family with an inherent appreciation for animals, nature, wildlife, hunting and fishing. My mother had a gray Poodle named "Peppy" and my brother and I had a mixed Beagle named "Tish." My father was a big game hunter but also loved hunting rabbits, squirrels, doves, quails and all sorts of native game. I vividly recall watching my father and brother carefully choosing a stud dog for their favorite Beagle, "Nancy." Even back in the 60's, he would fly Nancy to that special stud dog which he felt had the qualities he was looking for. Ironically, the airfare probably cost him nearly the same as the stud service, not to mention the money he would get for the puppies. He usually gave some of them to his friends. He was always trying to produce a better hunter for his hobby of rabbit hunting. These early experiences definitely influenced my desire to work with animals from early on. I always wanted a bird, fish or a horse to add to my menagerie.

As far back into my childhood as I can remember, my time and interests were spent primarily around horses. When I was 10, my father who was a building contractor, moved us behind a large horse farm where I could watch girls and boys older than I riding hunter and jumper horses. From the first moment I laid eyes upon the horses jumping over brush jumps and all kinds of various hurdles, I knew that I had to have a horse of my own and that I wanted to spend my whole life involved with animals.

Every day Tish and I would hang around the barn and I would beg the older girls for riding lessons. Finally, one nice teen-ager felt sorry for me and gave me free lessons. For the first time in my life, I got to mount a horse. I had ridden ponies before but this was a beautiful dappled gray gelding named Frosty! What a thrill it was; learning how to post and then to canter. Later my parents bought me an American Saddle bred mare for my 16th birthday and I began to show in pleasure classes. Tragically, I only enjoyed her company for a year as I was severely injured by a friend's retired Thoroughbred racehorse. I dislocated my hip and was unable to ride anymore. My father sold my horse and we moved to Richmond, Kentucky my senior year. At only 17, I got married to a 20-year-old sailor, David. Two years later we starting raising a family. We had two sons, four years apart. In 1976, my husband felt God had called him to enter the ministry and we began pastoring a church.

Megan and friends

As the children started getting older, I eventually started yearning to work with horses again. I found a clerical position at a large Thoroughbred breeding farm. While there, I worked with a lady from England who owned a Jack Russell who had lived a short distance from the famous writer and veterinarian, James Herriot. It was the most beautiful and peaceful setting one could imagine. White plank fencing surrounded thousands of acres of gentle rolling hills. Brood mares with their foals would be peacefully grazing on the famous Bluegrass, which was green. For obvious reasons, the stallions would be double fenced in a separate paddock. It was there that I learned the value of a professional breeding operation. Nothing was done haphazardly. Sometimes 40 mares would be brought in for one stud to cover during a season. Many were flown in with the hopes of producing a winner at the Kentucky Derby. Enormous volumes of pedigrees were kept in the farm library where careful research would go into each breeding.

Later on I began working for a veterinarian and saw first hand the result of genetic diseases. I started bringing home dogs and a cat until my husband insisted I quit my job before we were kicked out of our subdivision. By this time we had a 4-year-old daughter and we found these dogs to be too difficult to manage. Often times they would knock my little girl down. I began searching for a puppy that would not be so difficult to train and would be gentle with my daughter. I fell in love with the Cavaliers because of their obedient, gentle and loving disposition.

Our Cavaliers are all raised as family pets in the home. We will spare no expense to see that they are well cared for. Dewclaws are removed, vaccines are given and they are dewormed. Our puppies are raised in our bedroom until they are up and running around and then they go into an exercise pen. We also take them outdoors in the warmer months. Each puppy is well socialized by our family and is raised with Megan and my cats. Our adults are not kenneled except when they are in season and have to be separated. Otherwise they roam free in our large fenced yard or they are inside with our family. At nights they are in their crates.

Your puppy will be crate trained when you get it as well as paper trained. We recommend that every puppy have it’s own crate as dogs are den oriented and they love their own little space. Puppies need lots of rest in the beginning months and need to be left alone when they are tired. Sometimes young children don’t realize this and will wear a puppy out by wanting to play with them too long. They may become so irritable as a result they may growl to say, "Leave me alone!"

Parents need to be aware of this and teach their children to respect the puppy’s needs. They should also sit down when holding the puppy. I recommend puppy obedience classes to help you get off to a great start and there are some wonderful books on the market to assist you in housebreaking. Whenever you have any questions, I am here for you the lifetime of your dog. Should circumstances ever find you in a position where you can no longer keep your dog, please contact me and I will offer you assistance in rehoming it. Never take it to a shelter.

At High Hopes Cavaliers, our dogs' well being is very important to us. We take pride in offering the finest American and English bloodlines and want to protect the breed from unscrupulous breeders.

Click here to read testimonies from owners of my Cavaliers.
"Testimonies"

President Reagan's Cavalier, Rex

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